Coming Soon!

Ringing out across Bradbury Place, one approach into Belfast’s city centre, are the sounds of construction. Four shop fronts were demolished there in 2022 in favour of student accommodation. They do say bad things come in threes. In 2016, three historic buildings on North Street in Belfast’s city centre were demolished. The year before, a 1930s art deco dancehall on York Street called the Orpheus was reduced to rubble. Unfortunately, there are plenty more examples beyond these.

Legally, in these three instances, no wrongdoings occurred. These were not listed buildings nor protected by a conservation area. Does this mean that they were fair game?

The Orpheus was an impressive, five-storey building with handsome engaged pilasters. Predominantly red brick, it had end and central bays of white stone which emphasised the building’s sheer verticality. Some of its character had been lost by the end of its life. It had suffered the addition of a glass walkway for Ulster University which extended, like some extra-terrestrial spaceship, right into its façade. It is a building with rich time-depth. After hosting dances as a ballroom, it became a large department store owned by the Co-operative Society. In the 1980s, it fell into use by Ulster University with the ballroom used as studio spaces. The expansive room was carved up with temporary partitioning. The building was struggling to survive in any form that resembled its original splendour. However, it is difficult to agree wholeheartedly with Ulster University’s statement that its demolition was ‘a necessary step’. <a href='#1'>[1]</a> Demolition over conservation is always a hard pill to swallow, but especially in these circumstances where the building was still in a useable state with historic merit. The building constructed in its place allowed the university to expand and increase its facilities. But is it inevitable that growing cities, like children outgrowing their old clothes, simply outgrow their historic environment? I believe it goes beyond this, and in the case of Belfast, is more under-handed.

The same ‘Northside Regeneration Scheme’ for Ulster University that wiped away the Orpheus similarly claimed three Victorian buildings, nos. 95-107 North Street. These buildings were a particularly sad loss as fine examples of Victorian architecture. Two were red brick, one of these with pointed gables and double storey round headed windows. They were in a sorry state, but restoration is always an option that can and should be explored. The most frustrating part of their demolition, however, is that they appear to have been almost saved. They were demolished, coincidentally, just before their listing was to beconsidered by Belfast City Council. <a href='#2'>[2]</a> It becomes more intriguing. The Ulster Architectural Heritage Society (UAHS) offer some interesting insight into the situation. Belfast City Council wrote to the UAHS in 2017 to confirm that they knew of no contact between those responsible for the North Street demolition and the City Council. However, UAHS’ own research revealed a significant overlap between the directors of the company responsible for demolishing nos. 95-107 and a company that had frequently worked with the City Council on past projects. <a href='#3'>[3]</a> In 2019, when yet another historic building known as the Linen Hostel building was demolished on Union Street, the City Council again claimed innocence, stating that it was not within their power to ‘save these buildings’. They commented that ‘while the council acknowledges the historic merit of the demolished buildings, they were not listed, nor are they in a conservation area or an area of townscape character.’ <a href='#4'>[4]</a> I am not seeking to point fingers, but it seems that a blame game is being played here where everyone escapes responsibility and destruction is still ongoing.

Is there any change on the horizon as of 2023?

Four shop fronts on Bradbury Place were recently demolished for increased student accommodation. If the ‘value’ of the demolished shops themselves are called into question, the Victorian terrace behind them (also demolished) or the 1930s row of shops to their right designed by J. D. Gordon (now overshadowed), should be enough to emphasise the loss. The new development will provide space for 156 students and ‘regenerate’ business in the area. <a href='#5'>[5]</a> Even more disruptive to the streetscape is the ‘Botanic Link’ proposed moments away from the demolished shops with room for an additional 253 students. <a href='#6'>[6]</a> Perhaps the area will thrive from the development, as it is undoubtedly an area in need of some care. What remains clear, however, is that demolition is still the preferred method for regeneration in Belfast.

To return briefly to the Northside Regeneration Scheme, it is important to note that this project did not go through, and that Stormont’s Department of Social Development withdrew its support for the scheme due to the loss of social housing and the ‘total lack of consultation’. <a href='#7'>[7]</a> The scheme’s aim had sounded noble: to ‘rejuvenate’ an area of Belfast that it felt was neglected and disconnected. However, as some local residents pointed out, the project would demolish much needed council owned housing to make way for student housing. It used ‘rejuvenation’ in the narrowest sense of the word. I do not believe that conservation and saving our historic environment is at odds with expansion, development and growth. Rather, a key consideration in the development of a city should be whether preserving our heritage will help us engage with our past and sustainably offer spaces to be repurposed. It seems that in a city with a complicated past, Belfast’s future is just as complex. The misaligned approach to heritage has been caught up within this and the historic environment is suffering as a result. As it stands, I cannot quite put my finger on why. Is heritage in Northern Ireland not highly valued enough to save it from the bulldozer, or is historic value being dismissed entirely in favour of profit?

Interesting further viewing:

<a href='https://www.irishnews.com/news/2016/02/03/news/the-last-days-of-belfast-s-orpheus-building-in-pictures-403951/'>Pictures of the Ruins of the Orpheus.</a>

<a href='https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-northern-ireland-29606492'>BBC article on the Northside Regeneration Scheme, Belfast.</a>

Sounding the Death Knell for Belfast's Heritage

BBC, ‘Time called on Belfast's Orpheus &#39;ballroom of romance&#39;’, <cite>BBC News N. Ireland</cite> (Oct, 2014) last accessed 17/1/23 at <a href='https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-29728972'>https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-29728972</a>

Staff reporter, ‘Outrage over demolition of old buildings in city centre’, <cite>Belfast Telegraph</cite> (Dec, 2016), last accessed 17/1/23 at <a id='2' href='https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/outrage-over-demolition-of-old-buildings-in-city-centre-35263810.html'>https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/outrage-over-demolition-of-old-buildings-in-city-centre-35263810.html</a>

For more infromation see: <a id='3' href='https://www.ulsterarchitecturalheritage.org.uk/news/listed-bank-suffers-damage-latest-north-street-demolition/'>https://www.ulsterarchitecturalheritage.org.uk/news/listed-bank-suffers-damage-latest-north-street-demolition/'</a>

Brett Campbell, ‘Historic Belfast buildings demolished at weekend - council under fire over lack of action’, <cite>Belfast Telegraph</cite>, (July, 2019), last accessed 17/1/23 at <a id='4' href='https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/historic-belfast-buildings-demolished-at-weekend-council-under-fire-over-lack-of-action-38297660.html'>https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/historic-belfast-buildings-demolished-at-weekend-council-under-fire-over-lack-of-action-38297660.html</a>

Connor Lynch, ‘Plans revealed for new £20m student accommodation and retail development in Belfast’, <cite>Belfast Live</cite> (April, 2021), last accessed 17/1/22 at <a id='5' href='https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/belfast-news/plans-revealed-new-20m-student-20373182'>https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/belfast-news/plans-revealed-new-20m-student-20373182</a>

Linen Quarter Bid, ‘Botanic Link, University Road’, last accessed 18/1/23 at <a id='6' href='https://linenquarter.org/regeneration-projects/botanic-link-university-road/'>https://linenquarter.org/regeneration-projects/botanic-link-university-road/</a>

Connla Young, ‘DSD withdraws support for north Belfast regeneration plan’, <cite>Irish News</cite> (April, 2016), last accessed 17/1/23 at <a id='7' href='https://www.irishnews.com/news/2016/04/27/news/dsd-withdraws-support-for-north-belfast-regeneration-plan-499872/'>https://www.irishnews.com/news/2016/04/27/news/dsd-withdraws-support-for-north-belfast-regeneration-plan-499872/</a>

In 2005 <cite>The Irish Times</cite> reported on Irish vernacular houses as a new ‘endangered species.’<a href='#1'>[1]</a> As disheartening as this is, I like the comparison to a living thing. It flows with the idea that these cabins (as they were contemporarily called) soaked in the life of their inhabitants; a playmate to the many children raised there, a friend to an elderly man who has lived there all his life. This means that they should be afforded the same respect as a living thing. However, as other endangered species like orangutans and giant pandas can attest to, the brute force of modern life crushes many victims in its wake. Although I’m returning to the topic sixteen years after <cite>The Irish Times</cite> article, it appears that the current climate is no kinder to vernacular buildings. Irish cabins still verge on the brink of extinction.

I stumbled upon an upsetting sentence in the NI Buildings Database: ‘the building has been demolished and a modern bungalow now stands on the site.’<a href='#2'>[2]</a>

The building in question is simply listed in the database as a ‘former thatched house’ in Glenavy, Antrim. No other details abound, lost in a similar manner to the original, thatched house. I have spent some time combing through the NI Buildings Database looking for information about any listed and surviving vernacular and/or thatched buildings. As stark and impersonal as a database is, what became immediately obvious after the first few search results was that rural Irish cabins, with their thumbed looking whitewash walls and peeping windows, are increasingly lost, forgotten and abandoned.

Certainly, some vernacular buildings have been deemed worthy of protection and are listed as sites of architectural and historic interest. In a 2002 survey, several vernacular structures in the Creevy Townland, Castlederg (Co. Tyrone) were identified as buildings located on the former Abercorn Estate’s lands, making them of historic interest. A late eighteenth century map which depicted six houses in this area was correlated with the site. ‘Early vernacular features’ such as a ‘wickerwork chimney’ were identified on one of the surviving houses, strongly suggesting that the house surveyed in 2002 was one of the structures identified on the early map.<a href='#3'>[3]</a> The house was occupied until the 1960s, but since then it has lain unoccupied. The NI Buildings Database notes that the ‘fireplace, stairs and first floor were removed in the early 1980s to facilitate storage of hay’.<a href='#4'>[4]</a> The frustrating inaccuracy of Google Maps makes the house difficult to identify online but a quick survey of the Creevy Townland as pictured in 2009 reveals a relative ghost town, save for a muddy population of cattle. The buildings appear blind with windows gaping open or boarded up altogether. The house is not in a conservation area and being listed does not seem strong enough armour to shield this building from unfortunate circumstances and the relentless march of time. The Database notes that this building is a ‘rare example of a large tenant farmers house largely unextended from its original construction’ making it an even more upsetting loss.<a href='#5'>[5]</a> To a degree, the redesignation of the farmhouse’s purpose from dwelling to hay storage does become part of its history, and at least the building was repurposed. However, the removal of internal features disposes with it the building’s memory. It is unlikely that the closest things to being residents, some nearby cows, are going to cherish the building’s long legacy. I don’t think I am being sentimental when I say that this development is a huge loss because it is not just a one-off case. Similar events are occurring all over the country.

With the tricky nature of preserving a thatched cottage and the often-elderly inhabitants of them (the inhabitancy of Irish cottages is often part of a wonderful, continuous tradition), it is understandable that houses should fall into disrepair. It also seems that local councils are aware of this and provide grants to help homeowners care for their vernacular houses. The <a href='https://ulsterarchitecturalheritage.org.uk/funding/'>Ulster Architectural Heritage website</a> does a brilliant overview of grants available for historic buildings. These grants apply to Northern Ireland where the examples of lost or crumbling cabins I have illustrated above also come from.

Heritage funds and organisations are engaged into conserving these buildings. However, as more fall into ruin than can be saved, it seems that the only answer to saving these buildings is to conduct such projects on a larger scale.

Researching this topic brought me to many useful handbooks for private owners looking for advice to care for their vernacular buildings. The <a href='https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nihe.gov.uk/Documents/Community/traditional_buildings&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1638741583537000&usg=AOvVaw2W2roZorKof0mx9TWE1M77'>'Traditional Buildings in Ireland'</a> produced by Richard Oram and Dawson Stelfox for the Mourne Heritage Trust is a really comprehensive guide to vernacular housing (and is also worth a browse just for the pictures!). SPAB Ireland have also recently held a series of webinars called ‘Conserving Irish Vernacular Houses’ which raised awareness of the issues of preserving vernacular buildings. These talks were also, for me, a crash course in learning about the finer details of Irish cabins. One particular talk by Claudia Kinmouth, which focused on original furniture, crystalised in my mind the issue of our vanishing vernacular. She had photos of vernacular houses she visited in the 1980s contrasted against pictures of them as recent as lockdown. Many were peeling, abandoned, damp-ridden sad creatures. A decline so recent and rapid, and in many cases irreparable. Even in the anonymous circumstances of a Zoom webinar I could just feel the ripple of disappointment. The helplessness, the ‘why don’t more people care!’. Ultimately, that seems to be the issue at heart. There are many brilliant people engaged in repairing, conserving, and researching our vernacular buildings but they are fighting a war with not enough troops.

It is therefore a mystery not too difficult to solve as to why Irish vernacular architecture is being neglected. Firstly, the burden seems to fall largely on private owners to keep in check their historic properties. This is not without financial aid, but it is certainly a task many would shy away from. As a result, we have more vernacular houses than people able to save them.

Secondly, and this is what I fear the most, I think people are losing interest in the Irish vernacular cabin. People are willing to visit their wonderfully preserved examples in the Ulster Folk Museum, but with a countryside littered with decay it seems that the wider publics’ interest struggles to leave the Folk Park’s gates. Save for some wonderful academics, volunteers and organisations, the Irish vernacular has dwindled from an established and thriving way of life up until the 20th century to being regarded as a niche and antiquarian interest. However, we are dealing with houses rather than exhibits here. Adaptation is how species survive in new environments and the Irish cabin is no exception. A sensitive adaptation of an older cabin honours the Irish tradition of continually occupying their vernacular homes. Often their interiors were jazzed up with a bright coat of paint or fancy new wallpaper. I would argue that those who lived in Irish cabins adapted to the times and fashions whilst still preserving the integrity of their home. We can bring these houses into modern contexts and adapt them to our needs whilst still allowing the original flesh and soul of the building to survive. It is that, or letting those houses become crumbled biscuity remains scattered across a countryside lived in only by ivy and the wind.

The Mysterious Case of Ireland's Vanishing Vernacular

Frank McDonald, ‘The way we were - and how to preserve it’, <cite>The Irish Times</cite> (28 April, 2005), accessed 30/9/21 at <a id='1' href='https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/homes-and-property/the-way-we-were-and-how-to-preserve-it-1.436056'>https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/homes-and-property/the-way-we-were-and-how-to-preserve-it-1.436056</a>

Department of Communities, <cite>Buildings Database</cite> (surveyed 23 April 2010), accessed 5/11/21 at <a id='2' href='https://apps.communities-ni.gov.uk/Buildings/buildview.aspx?id=15763&js=false'>https://apps.communities-ni.gov.uk/Buildings/buildview.aspx?id=15763&js=false</a>

Department of Communities, <cite>Buildings Database</cite> (surveyed 18 June 2002), accessed 5/11/21 at <a id='3 4 5' href='https://apps.communities-ni.gov.uk/Buildings/buildview.aspx?id=13608&js=false'>https://apps.communities-ni.gov.uk/Buildings/buildview.aspx?id=13608&js=false</a>

Cabin of Clay

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